This week was a good one considering my knee gave out on me last Sunday in the half marathon. I went by Walmart and picked up a knee strap and began using it right away. The beginning of the week I walked and slowly jogged and felt really good by the end of the week. Taking it easy kept me from having to stay off of my knee completely. As a matter of fact, once I began wearing the strap, the pain subsided completely. Now, I'm afraid to go without it...it's become my security blanket. On Thursday, I ran 4 miles at a comfortable pace and followed that with a mile of speedwork (2x400 walking with equal 2x400 race pace). I felt great and had no pain.

Kent had signed up for a 5k just down the road from here and I decided not to run since I had so much trouble in the half. I certainly didn't want to do more damage and keep me from running completely. But by the time Friday got here, I could hardly wait to race again. So Saturday morning we headed out. It was a cool morning and a great day to race. For some reason, I got the jitters. It's funny because sometimes I do and sometimes I don't...and this doesn't seem to be related to a distance or location. It just hits me sometimes.

As it turned out, I bettered my 5k time since the marathon by over a minute from the last one I'd run. I feel like I'm on the way up again. Also, (and this won't happen again) I was the 4th woman to cross the line!! I was as excited about this as I was about anything else. I received 1st place in my age group (it figures). The lady right in front of me was in my age group so she got Grand Masters...shoot!! As a matter of fact, I'd race against her a couple of times and have come ahead of her. She told me this was a good time for her and I knew it wasn't for me. She was behind me in the Azalea Trail this year and after me in a 5k I ran last May in Orange Beach. Kent did very well, too. He came in 2nd overall racewalking getting that award! He is improving his time so fast. I'm so proud of him! He's my hero...he's strong, persistent, and committed to improving his health!



This race was connected with the German Festival. We had seafood gumbo and let me tell you it was some of the best I'd ever eaten!! It had large shrimp, crabmeat and chicken in every bite...hmmmm, good. A local restaurant, Wolfbay Lodge, provided it for the runners. There were bananas, tangerines, hot dogs and bags of strawberries/bananas and pineapple chips. We left with a German sausage dog and German potato salad in hand. It was a really nice day and filled with lots of family fun.

Gulf Coast Half Marathon

Good Morning, Pensacola!

This race was going to be unpredictable from the beginning. I had fought "issues" off and on since the marathon and in the last couple of weeks I felt like it was all under control though it was a little late to be getting in the mileage I usually do preparing for a long race. Still, thinking it had not been long since my biggie I thought as long as I got in 10 or 11 miles I would be okay. Two weeks ago I nailed 10 miles easy and felt great! Eleven miles were planned for the following week but it didn't work out to get those in. Got 7 in and hoped that would be enough. My recent physical "attack" had even subsided and I was running without my compression wrap comfortably with no pain or soreness during or after my run, even on hills.

Feeling a little unsure of it all, I was quite apprehensive going into this race. Mentally, I was NOT there. In order to do the Gulf Coast Half Marathon you needed to sign up pretty early as they had a limit and it filled quickly. If I had been able to sign up a little later, I may have waited on this for a few reasons: my mileage was not where I wanted it to be, I wanted to work on some speedwork for this race and wasn't able to do so, and I had no confidence in even making it 13 miles. In the last days approaching the race, I reluctantly talked myself into enjoying it instead of trying to "race" it (a disappointing outlook from the beginning). My running buddies understand the difference in running and racing and know what I'm talking about.

Being in Gulf Shores and the race in Pensacola and starting at 7:00 a.m. meant we needed to leave BY 5:00 at the latest. That meant, getting up BY 4:00. So with the alarm set and snuggling into bed around 9:00, I was ready for a good night's rest looking forward to a good run the next morning. NOT!!!!!!!! For some reason, and I still don't know what it is, I could not sleep. This is very rare for me. I never have trouble sleeping. At 2:00 I was still wide eyed and bushy tailed. I'd tried everything to try to get to sleep. Have you ever had re-runs of doing things trying to go to sleep IN THE SAME NIGHT?? I haven't. That was really weird...AND it made me kinda mad cause I could not sleep. I finally dozed off only to wake up just before 4:00. And that was a good thing...the alarm did NOT go off!!

When I got up and going, irritated that I didn't get a wink's rest, my eyes caught the thermometer and it read 98% humidity!! Oh, my, now I'm just gonna die today. When we got to the race, the skies were overcast and foggy. It had been this way for 3 days with only a little sun peaking out here and there. I was hoping this would be the case today. As we were lining up I heard my name called and it was my friend Gary from Laurel. It was good to see a familiar face. He was so encouraging for me and before I knew it I was ready to race.

And, off we go. Check out that fog!

I started off feeling good and as with all races, I felt strong and excited. Okay, so now I'm wanting to race. I usually have a pace I try to maintain for a half and feeling good I thought I'd refuse my predetermined idea of "running" it and go for my pace. As I watched it in the first couple of miles, I realized I was headed for a pretty strong race. So, I re-thought about my strategy. Oh, yeah, I do a LOT of thinking even while I'm racing. I talk to myself all the time...no comments here!! I began watching my pace for a different reason. Deciding to run at a comfortable pace instead of a "race pace", I monitored my pace to be sure I wasn't going too fast so I could get through the 13 miles fairly easy. The thoughts of making it that far left when the gun went off, ha! I'm just loving racing!!

The course was beautiful! I mean gorgeous. Beach was visible throughout the entire race. Either it was on the gulf side or on the bay side. With such a view, it made the humidity tolerable. Don't get me wrong, the sweat showed up at the start. I could actually breathe okay as long as the sun was not out. Thankfully, I wasn't affected by the humidity except for the sweating. Dehydration was constantly on my mind. Unlike other races I'd run, water stops were a regular. Rarely do I get more than a few sips of water in a half but today I made it a point to stop regularly to hydrate before I felt like I needed it, which is a late sign. As a matter of fact, several ambulances were assisting runners throughout the course. It was tough for them. This made me MORE aware of the importance of drinking water and Gatorade.

Going on 10 miles I was still feeling really good. I tried to absorb as much as I could about the race: the views, the friendly faces throughout the course, the overcast skies, beach smells and what my body was telling me about my pace. Then mile 11 approached. The race began to change...my left knee started hurting pretty bad. It was the same one that gave me trouble 2 months ago in the marathon. I got a couple of indications something was happening in the 9th mile which made me more cautious. But #11 got my attention. All I could think about was there are only 2 more miles and I'm sure I can make it...make it meaning running. My pace slowed down and disappointment got closer. Keeping a slower pace I thought would be the key...UNTIL mile 12 came up. It was then that I felt an extreme, excruciating pain shoot through that knee all the way up my body!! The pain was so hard it literally knocked me back. A lady running right behind me actually caught me as I started to fall. I had no idea she was there but was very thankful that she was close to me. After she straightened me back up, there was no guessing but that I had to walk. So I thought if I could walk a little and run a little I could make it in. After all, I was right at the end, right? NOT!!! Every step I tried to make running stopped me dead in my tracks. No jogging or even trotting could I do. Now, my goal was to finish...I wanted my medal! Reluctantly, I accepted my fate. It was coming down to JUST finishing. As I neared the corner before the Finish Line, I mustered up everything I had and ran it in. I hope I never have to walk a race in and this one was no exception. I knew if I could do it in the marathon, I could do it now. I wanted to run the last couple in soooo bad, but it just didn't happen. All my hopes were dashed! I ran in saddened by the way I had to finish. So many negative things were there for a not-so-good race but all of those were not my problem. It was something totally unexpected.

Coming in to the finish.

After getting my medal and bottles of water, I immediately went to the truck and got my compression wrap. I'm so glad I brought it. I could hardly walk!! After it was wrapped, it helped so much. Kent had no idea there had been a problem because he was at the Finish Line and couldn't see me walking. He took a few pictures and I am so glad. At least, they weren't close ups so you could see the pain in my face cuz I was in some kinda pain.

Our bibs had our name on it. The chip was on the back of it. Cool looking medal. Here's one side of it.

Here's the other side.

We went on to the post-race activities and enjoyed food on a beautiful day. As we were getting ready to leave (my knee was beginning to pound), the announcements for awards were at my age group so we began to listen. With the 1500 registered runners (this was the cutoff) I thought it would give me a good idea what I would need to run in order to place for next year. The third place was slower than me and it got my attention. The next name I heard was mine!! I definitely couldn't believe it was possible with the knee problem I was experiencing at the end. This award was so earned and I was very excited going up getting it.


I had to put a paper towel inside so you could read it.

All in all I'm glad for these things:
1. My ability to run in difficult weather conditions
2. Changing my attitude to a positive one "before" the race began
3. Making hydration a key element to a successful race
4. Listening to my body (no matter what it says)
5. Re-focusing my goal "during" a race
6. Keeping a somewhat positive attitude even at the end
7. Perservance, steadfastness and a little hard-headedness thrown in for good measure
8. Thankful for running, no matter what stones it throws at me
9. Good friends that encourage me!!!

ASI Photos took pictures throughout the race and I'm sure I will have a couple to share from them but they are not ready yet. Thanks for visiting with me today and for ALL the encouragement you give me and other runners!

March Review

It is hard to believe that March is gone. Races began filling our calendar shortly after the Mardi Gras Marathon. As hindsight is 20/20...AND I have to experience stuff before I believe it...I've found that maybe taking more rest time from the marathon should have been done. I've had "weird" aches and pains that seem to come and go as well as pop up when you least expect it. Even now, it's happening. Being the "smart" person I am (tongue in cheek here), I registered to run a half marathon next week. What was I thinking!! Listening to my body wasn't good enough that I had to push this poor thing to its limits! This time, training has not been something I've enjoyed as much as I usually do. But this is for another post...

I reviewed my runs for the month of March and was pleasantly surprised. Now, I'm pretty sure of the "why's" of the aches and pains mentioned in the paragraph above.

March stats:

Run Distance: 85.15 miles
Run Time: 14:27:04 min

Walk Distance: 10.31 miles
Walk Time: 2:38:12 min

Total Distance: 95.46 miles
Total Time: 17:05:16 min

Races: 3 out of 4 Saturdays
Days of week running: 5

I'm trying to incorporate more walking on a regular basis. I know it's good for you and I want to use, yet rest, my legs with some exercise. I'm sure not everyone agrees with this method but I know some that live by it and by watching them this works! So I will continue to work this in with my running. I use to not warm up or cool down. Though I don't always warm up, I have been doing a better job at cooling down.

Azalea Trail, Addition

Dale Rasmussen, GCRC, won the overall 10k racewalk. Jennifer Henderson, PBP, finished 3rd in the 10k racewalk. Stephen Jones, GCRC, finished 4th in his age group (10-14) in the 10k.

I, also, forgot to mention the youngest person that ran in the ATR 10k.

Seamus Hilleary is 3 years old from Mobile, Al. His time is 1:06:36 with a pace of 10:43.

Can you believe this??? Three years old! This was amazing to us. No, I don't know him, just felt like he deserved a little recognition on this blog. He came in 4th out of 13 in ages 1-9. The next youngest girls and boys was age 6. Way to go, Sweetie!!

In case I've overlooked someone by mistake, click here for the link to all the results. Congratulations to all of you! Everyone should be recognized for the great work they did.

Azalea Trail Run

What a day! We met up with a lot of our friends from the coastal area and the Laurel & Hattiesburg area. The humidity made it a challenging race for everyone as it was quite hard to breathe. My time was not as good as I had hoped but looking back over it I see where several people's time was not as good as usual.

I don't think I've ever started a race "with" someone before but this year I connected with Nancy and Dwight. It wasn't long before we went our own way and got in our pace. A little way into the race I felt this little tap on my shoulder and I looked around to see my good friend, Ginny. It was so good to see her though it was short lived. She's such a good runner and she went on by me with such ease. Regretfully, I never saw her again. It wasn't long before I heard a familiar voice next to me. It was Deleica! I was excited to see her. We pretty much have the same pace and I was needing someone to keep me on track. I knew she was coming but we didn't get together before the race started. She came down early that morning. We ran most of the race together and I really enjoyed that.

I ran in the 10k and Kent ran as a 5k racewalker. As it turned out, we both came away as winners. Actually, anyone who ran should feel like a winner! I was totally surprised when I checked the results on the wall. I had placed in my age group. I couldn't believe it! As I stated before, it was NOT my best race. When the final results came in, I ranked 5th place. Kent walked a good race, too. He's only racewalked a couple of races so far. This one they have spotters that watch this group to be sure no rules are broken. He came out 2nd in the racewalker division.

Others we met that placed are: Leonard V. first place in his age group, Ginny D. tenth in her age group and Becky R. first place in her age group. Then there were Tanya D. who placed second and Hollie R. placed second in the 10k racewalker division. I hope I didn't miss anyone; it certainly wasn't intentional. Others we know that ran are Gary T., Ed W., Bill G., Deleica C., Randy G., Nancy P., Dwight H., Bob C., Serina W., Dennis W., La Von J., Lee D. and Danny I. It was great to run up with these great runners! Congrats to everyone that ran...it was a tough race this year. Post race activites were really good, too. No pictures were taken as I didn't have my camera with me during the race or activities.

We love this race but left this year just whipped. Now, what's next???

St. Patrick's Day 5k

What a beautiful day to have a race! It is warming up quickly here in south Mississippi. I didn't know the temp but I can promise you that it got HOT before the race was finished!

I was not sure what I was going to do for the 5k. My leg was not well enough, I thought, to try to "race" it and I just didn't think I could mentally "run/jog" it. Even thought about sitting this one out. But as I begin to intermingle with many of my running buddies, the thought of sitting it out was absolutely absurd! Excitement filled the air and I could hardly wait to get going. My newest and closest friend (my leg wrap) and I headed for the front of the line. I told myself that I would run as hard as I felt I could do without hurting.

Ed W. caught me before the race and took my picture in the street. Thanks! I tried to hide my compression wrap under my shorts but had my leg wrapped as much as I could to keep from re-injuring it.


I wasn't ON the front line but got as close as I felt I could safely. I hate for others to KNOW they are slower than others (sometimes even walkers) and get ahead just to slow down the faster runners and make them run an obstacle course for the first quarter mile just to get around them. Funny, these folks don't ever get to the side but in the middle of the street. Okay...done with that now. So off we go! Not sure exactly when/where this picture was taken but I'm to the right of the second cone in the black shorts and red shirt. Hopefully, you won't recognize me because my hair has a mind of it's own when I run!


I felt pretty good running. No pain at all...alright!! The wrap must be helping. I ran as good a race as I could. Since my marathon training and race, my speed is really off but I'm looking to regain it by summer provided I lose some of this flab I've decided was a good idea to carry around. NOT!!!!!!

When all was said and done I was able to whip out First Place in my age group...woo-hoo!! I was not expecting a single bit of recognition. This really helped my feelings especially since I was 2 minutes off my best 5k!! Did you hear me??? Two minutes!! This was a flat course and I couldn't do better than that?? Come on, Robbie...this will HAVE to get better. But I'm feeling stronger all the time and that's good news.

I'm so excited here!

Friends with their trophies:
Bob C. and Tommy P. Way to go guys!

One more bit of VERY exciting news. One of our club members, Bill G., set a new state record for his age in this race!! He came in at a fast 20:33. Our hats are off to you, friend!
Got his picture before the others in his age group for this reason.

And, finally, Congratulations to Leonard V. for coming in first overall, as usual!! Way to go, Superman. He not only directs the races, he starts them, wins them and comes in so early to cheer everyone on when they cross the line. And, oh yeah, he tallies the results and gives out the awards. Whew!! This tires me just trying to get it all written down. There's soooo much more but this is it for now. How he directs, starts and wins races is beyond my ability to understand.

Update: Nine (9) state records were set in this race. Just found out. Congratulations to Leonard V. AGAIN for running such a good race! Good job to all of you.

For more running stats, go here for the results: http://gulfcoastrunningclub.org/results/data_5K.php?race=stpat&yr=2011

Picture with running buddies: Julie and Bob
Me, Julie, Bob & Kent. Great job to all of you!

One more picture with a good friend taken at the last race.

Tommy & Kent

We decided to hang around for the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Here is a picture with just a tad of all the booty I got. Check out that cute white garter with a green 4-leaf clover on it. The necklaces I'm wearing are all really different. Not just the usual beads. All of those were given to a little girl in the car next to us.


Can you tell who took this picture? Look REAL close. It's a no-brainer.

What in the world???

Last week was quite challenging for me. I ran 8 miles on Monday and felt pretty good. Maintained my half marathon pace like I wanted to as I prepare to do one soon. But Tuesday...Tuesday came and it was a completely different story. As I started to run a 3 measley slow miles I was stopped in my tracks, literally. What is going on? I mean I couldn't run 3 steps without a sharp pain in my right thigh. This has not happened before. As those that read my blog know, I am stubborn; therefore I REFUSED to stop. So walking it was. Iced, drugged and wrapped my thigh afterward. It helped and continued to doctor it often. Next day came and 4 miles were planned. I wrapped my leg and headed out the door. Cautiously, I ran VERY slow. I stopped and stretched 3-4 times throughout and that seemed to help. For the next few days, my wrap and I became one. I began to get better even though I could still feel the "hurt" deeply. Carefully, I ran hoping it would help heal as long as I didn't injury it further. By the end of the week, I was feeling better but still "one" with my wrap.

ECO 5k

It was so good to race again! It's been too long. Now, don't take me wrong, the marathon was a race but for me it was more of finishing than a race. My racing for me had been put on hold during my training as I didn't want to take a chance of incurring an injury just before the marathon. We'd signed up for the ECO 5k but as the weather begin to worsen we weren't sure we were going to make it. But decided to bite the bullet and go for it.

Festivities began the night before when we picked up our packet. They were held at the quaint little Mockingbird Cafe. I loved the ambience and art there. We were also treated with a choice of a hamburger or veggie burger with drink and Miss Vicki's chips as part of our race fee. Let me tell you, that is probably the absolute bestest hamburger we've EVER eaten!! I'm not talking size (though it was huge), I'm talking taste. It was 100% Angus beef, at least an inch thick. It was on a roll type bun made with cheese and jalapeno's in it. Oh my goodness...it was fine!!! We could not finish it, it was so huge.

Race day started out with a 100% percent chance of rain forecasted but for "some" reason it delayed until lunch. The winds had been so strong for a couple of days and nights with gusts up to 30 mph, but they had subsided some. This was a biathalon (kayaking and running) AND a 5k race. You could do either one. But the wind and currents were so bad (a small craft advisory had been issued) that the kayaking was deemed unsafe and was canceled; therefore moving everyone to the 5k race. Even that was a bit questionable. We spoke with a couple of EMT's before the race and they were concerned because of a terrible storm that was to be there in about 30 minutes...the time the race was to start. With this in mind, we planned on racing in the rain. Unless the weather presents circumstances like lightning, it's not cancelled. We, also, met up with Ed W., lovingly called "Special Ed", and he took pictures until his disk reached "full" and that ended his tour of duty.

Here's Kent & I...okay...we didn't plan to dress alike. We NEVER do! And, I almost wore my black/gray cap, too.

At the beginning. Me in the middle and on the far right is Tommy P. Great job in your run, TP!

Ed on the left. Thanks so much for taking your time to snap a few pics.

ADDED NOTE: I forgot to mention this when I initially wrote the article but I really wanted to. There was a very nice man, D. Baria, who came up behind me when I was coming to the Finish Line. He was like an angel. Seems he just "appeared" right behind me and pushed me to run harder at the end. He could have easily ran past me but stayed right behind and kept telling me to "beat" him forcing me to run harder and harder. Thank you so much, D. You'll never know what that meant to me. Because you were so close and yet behind me I never got a good look at your face so I could never find you and tell you what that meant. I hope you read my blog so you will know now that "I thank you" for your help!

Because it continued to look like the sky was going to split wide open, we immediately left when the race was finished and headed back over to the Mockingbird Cafe where post race activities were going to take place. We received an extra shirt, an energy drink and a wrist band which gave us access to LOTS of good food, drink and homemade cookies. There were sausage and chicken jambalaya, chicken with tomatoes and onions in vermicelli, and a black bean with rice and pork loin dish followed by very large oatmeal raisin homemade cookies. Of course, there were energy drinks, beer, and coke products. It was delish! Here are some pics of the Mockingbird Cafe.

Here are the pics of the 5k winners. Loved the masks that the top winners got. They were all different and very pretty.

Overall Male

Overall Female

Masters Winners: Nancy & Leonard

Grand Masters Winners...that's me!

My Cool Mask!

Also, received this pretty handmade plaque

Race report can be found here. Thanks to Leonard and everyone who made this race a very successful one in spite of the weather! Great job...

Bad Day...

Well, I can chalk up today's run as absolutely pitiful! I began with a one mile warm-up walk and felt really good. It was even at a pretty decent clip. Then I began to run......well, I tried! As a matter of fact, I practically did NOT run today. I'm not sure if I had a bad case of indigestion or what; but my chest was hurting. I HATE what's happening! I'm not sure I even ran .15 mile before I had to stop and walk. My chest began to hurt with pains, like indigestion. My right hip had been aching some before I started and, of course, it wanted attention, too; therefore adding to the drama. I tried to push through by walking some, then I'd feel better and would tried to run again. But, NOOOO, that didn't work. I absolutely refused to quit before my hour was up! This went on the entire time: walking and running, walking and running. At least, I got in a decent walk.

After I got home and ate lunch, I laid down on the couch and slept for a while. When I woke up, the pain was still there. I'm now wondering if I'm getting an intestinal bug of sort! Yuk!!! I don't feel good and not handling this well at all. I really want to run again...NOW!!

An Amazing Week

I cannot believe the week I've had. It has been the most amazing experience ever. I've actually run my first marathon and finished well! Not in time, but in ability, feeling confident in the program and finishing with a smile on my face. It was the oddest thing. Other than fighting left knee issues the last few miles (which was on concrete), all I could talk about in the race was what I could do different, how I can train harder/smarter and how I can strengthen my knees with better cross training for the next one. Do you hear me?? The NEXT one!! Marathons have a way of manipulating your brain. I don't understand it and I've talked with others and they don't seem to either. All I can say is that even in the hard part (with pain) at the end, I was driven by "something" that wanted more of me. I really did not understand my longing to keep running and running and running. Oh, yeah, I was tired at the end. But my body really wanted more. Pain, eagerness, striving for more and more and more. There's nothing like. And, NO!! It can't be explained. It is beyond reason.

For the negative side...I have been at such a loss as to "what now" that I'm fumbling. Thankfully, I've had a couple of people share with me their experiences of the same feelings.

So am I admitting to my blog friends early in the game that I'm a glutton for punishment. I mean, what else can do this to you. Well, only time will tell. For now, I am recovering from the race with light running and resting, anxiously awaiting when I can start running hard again.

Running...there's nothing like it!! Run 4 It!

I Am A Marathoner!!

F.Y.I. This is a long post...

I can't believe I did it! The Rock 'N Roll Mardi Gras Marathon on Sunday was exhiliarating. And I can't believe I've waited until I was 55 to do one...I'm too old to begin such a thing! But I love a challenge and this is what it's all about. This is one of the most exciting things I've ever done in my life. No, it's not like going on vacation. This is something that you have to prepare months for, train for, put your plans aside and brave the weather to push your body to limits it's not gone before. It is something that one can not understand unless you've experienced it. It is amazing! It doesn't matter about a lot of things except that you do your best, listen to your body, fuel it and push it where YOU want it to go.

Discipline, commitment and the want-to are three things a runner MUST have before attempting to do a marathon. I thought the same when I began my journey in running my first half marathon...and granted these elements are there. But this exceeds anything you ever thought before. I can't even imagine all the training and discipline someone goes through to be an Olympian...it's got to be beyond your wildest thoughts. At the beginning of the week, I began watching my diet closely eating lots and lots of vegetables and fruits. I was diligent and lost a total of 5 pounds by the marathon on Sunday. I was not sure I could pull off a decent amount of weight not having the miles to put in this week.

When we came into The Big Easy Saturday around lunch and headed for the Expo, my excitement level grew and grew. I remember feeling like a kid in a toy store last year. So many things to look at and things I've not imagined seeing relative to this new habit I've become addicted to called running. Oh, I'm not talking about the typical shoes and socks, but the original phrased t-shirts, must-have tech "toys", bumper stickers, fuel belts, jewelry, etc., etc. With all of that in mind, my heart skipped a beat as we parked.

We signed in and made Corral changes as Kent was in a different one than I and we wanted to start together. I mean, you MUST have that good luck, last minute smack on the lips to help you through, right? He wasn't around at all last year and I was nervous being alone...excited, but nervous. But he decided he wanted to attempt his first half marathon; therefore, giving us the opportunity to be together at the start. Right after we all got inside, we had our pictures taken at a photo wall.

We weren't aware that the picture was being taken when it was...not much of a smile going on here.

Us three new marathon runners were prepared and smiled continually so we could get a good one out of the bunch.

Though this is blurry, I had the opportunity to have my picture taken with two more Biggest Loser contestants!! This now makes 4 of them I've got a photo with. Tee-hee!

A photo of our bibs with timing chips. Mine was #12062 and Kent's was #20400. The excitement builds!!

Since last year I've wished I had purchased a couple of witty runner's tech shirts so this year there was no thinking about it...I was gonna get some. Also, with this being my first marathon, there were other things I wanted to get commemorating my hard work and new achievement.



And my favorite (I've kicked myself many times for not getting this one last year):

I knew I was going to get a 26.2 bumper sticker for the truck and a necklace with a runner girl and 26.2 on it that I'd seen last year.


The morning of the race was electric! Thousands of people everywhere!! We had many, many friends that ran in these races. Most elected to run in the half. But there were so many I couldn't begin to give you a general number of them. And, even though they were all there, we never run up on any except for one before the race, Alice H. I don't know how many were placed in a corral, but I would guess at lesat 100. You could hardly move so there may have even been 200. Again, I was so excited to have Kent by my side this year. It was chilly that morning especially having to be there early and still dark. We all wore gloves for a while after we started. All but Deleica had extra clothing to discard before the race began. All these clothes were given to the homeless. Here are some pre-race pictures (I hated ours blurred):



We all three had tech shirts made with "Run, (our name), Run" on the front and stats on the back. Except mine was Mardi Gras gold and theirs were white. I think I like theirs best.

Soon we were beginning to move. Oh gosh, I could hardly contain myself! I even began making low squealing sounds...tee-hee! If I could have yelled out without looking like an idiot, I would have. My heart was pounding. The others, not having experienced this before, were excited, too. Then before we knew it, we were on our way. Bands played about every mile. And spectators were everywhere cheering everyone on. It's almost like you're a celebrity and unknown people are rooting and yelling for you. There were many characters along the route, too. Some offering beer, Krispy Kreme donuts, cookies, salt packs, etc., served by several different groups of cheerleaders, men in red dresses, people in pajamas, nurses...all kinds of people. This year was different for me for many reasons and one of those was knowing several different spectators. It was so nice to see people you knew on the sidelines. I hope I don't forget anyone (it will truly be unfortunate because you ALL meant a lot to me). There was Dennis B. (he appeared twice on the route), Gary D., a group from our Gulf Coast Running Club (calling out your name), Bob S. and especially my friends Cynthia and Kent M. who took some wonderful action shots of us. The first one is the Club and the others are from Cynthia & Kent. Aren't they great?





This was so much fun and I don't think I need to say that. We laughed pretty much the whole way!

We ran through gorgeous Audubon Park. All I could think was that this couldn't be in New Orleans!! It's beauty made you want to stay there and run around in circles for the rest of the time. Sooo serene! Wish Kent could have run that way, too. I wanted to be with him at this point, sitting on one of those wonderful little benches watching the ducks and geese as they fly into one of the beautiful little ponds with little fountains spewing soft water sprays. So, so pretty!

Okay...back to the race...as we got into our last 3 miles, running began to take its toll on me in a way I'd not expected. My left knee began to hurt a lot and Frank began experiencing pre-cramping in his quads. We worked through these situations by walking and running a little here and there and it was helping. My knee would stop hurting when I walked and his legs were given relief from cramps. We wanted to run so badly but our bodies weren't letting us. Deleica was encouraged to move on at the point that we saw we would have to walk/run the remaining race.

Turning the negative around, I reminded "us" that time was not of the essence in this race. It never has been. We did not know how our bodies would react at these distances. I set my goal very high to run this race entirely but it wasn't meant this time. I do NOT regret this agressive goal...I WILL do it! Goals are earned, not given! Lessons are learned or discounted...mine will be learned. I do not regret anything I've done during this time. I could easily put myself down but why would I do that? Running a marathon is something to be proud of when you've done your best. I am proud of all of us, the training we were committed to and a great future ahead.

We were all tired and yet felt great in running our best race. A few pictures at the end:


Close to the end of my race, I began to feel that I was getting a blister on my right foot. Though it hurt, it wasn't anything like my knee...and...I knew I was close to the end. When we left I changed clothes and removed my socks and shoes and, lo and behold, I had received a physical racing trophy...a nice colorful one! Ouch!!! Why does New Orleans do this to me?? To make me stand up and say, "you're not doing this to me again"??


The next morning we woke up to a gorgeous sunrise. It was the icing on the cake from a great weekend. This is where light meets night.



Things I did well:
1. Commited to daily training.
2. Fueled regularly during the race.
3. Drank plenty of Cytomax during the race.
4. Packed my fuel belt well (with Ibuprofen & vinegar).
5. Listened to my body throughout the race.
6. Enjoyed every minute!
7. Embraced the tough moments, never gave up and laughed in its face.
8. Was never ashamed by doing my best. I NEVER was!
9. Had a positive attitude and smiled the whole way.

Lessons learned:
1. Workout more with weights/weight bearing exercises to improve my joint strength.
2. Stretch more often.
3. I never gave up when my knee tempted me to. I accepted it as a "caution light" not a "stop light".
4. Put in longer distances to learn my body better.
5. Always have my iPod to keep my mind focused on the end.

Future plans:
1. Continue to run long distances on a regular basis.
2. Improve my flexibility with regular strength exercises or classes.
2. Do my best and strive for more and more and more.
3. Take care of my body so it will take care of me.
4. Decide on another marathon. And, I think I already have.

Yeah, right after I finished I wanted to do another! My mind sought ways to improve before we were on the road home. I never got sore but did experience tightness in my thighs. It was never a problem and I was expecting the usual pain.

My finish time was: 5:36:54 but hoped for much better. The good thing is that I burned 3031 calories!!! Kent's time was: 2:56:59. He made his goal of breaking 3 hours. Way to go, honey...good job!

We are well pleased with our results. We never gave up...that just wasn't in the plan. Kent had said from early on that he would NOT do another long distance race. But now that it's over, I think he's wanting to sign up for the half when I do the whole at Disney World next year...oops! Did I let the cat out of the bag?? If money holds out, that's our plan. I can hardly wait.......again!!!!

Final Week

This is the beginning of my final week of training before my marathon. Last week was a very hard one for me cuz I thought I would die if I couldn't get in a long distance! I mean, for real. I got down about it. Don't think I could have written a post without being sad or ugly or even nasty about this new adventure called "tapering". That was a curse word last week; but I finally grew past it...whew! Okay, this is all new to me, folks. Thankfully, my good running friends pulled me through and they really did! I appreciate all the support you've given me.

This week holds a lot of busy-ness for us. Training for our races are done. Now, we're enjoying...and yes, I can say enjoying...the tapering. Now emphasis is on what to pack, how to pack, what to eat, and getting everything charged at the last minute. You know, the phones, iPod and camera. Yes, I WILL be carrying my camera with me. I want to take as many pictures as I feel I can get. Hopefully, I'll be able to take a few during the run...WITHOUT falling this year, ha! But I will get them at the end for sure. Regardless of how we all look, this is a monumental time for both of us.

Kent has vowed to never attempt long running again. It's really just not for him. He has physical issues he's never had to deal with before, some due to his many years of runing and others new ailments, such as gout that can be so painful and debilitating. It's been tough on him. But he has been very diligent in getting his runs in. Because of these issues, his plan for the race is to incorporate walking in his running. It should work well for him. On top of that he doesn't have the interest in long running. Said he might if he was much younger and without the pain he deals with but that it was too much on him. But everyone has their own interest and I certainly don't fault him for that. It's okay to not have a drive to do marathons or ultras. Just because they are phenomal events, doesn't mean everyone has the desire to do them.

Now me, I'm loving longer runs!! Just can't help it. I love the challenge it puts me through mentally and physically. I plan to continue to do them. My focus, at this time, will be on improving my time on half marathons. I may have more goals before it's all said and done.

Got in a good cross training workout this morning and I'm feeling really good right now about everything.

Now get out and DO SOMETHING! Every day is a great day to do something for your body.

Tapering...Bugs...Fun

So many things are new for me in doing my first marathon. I've loved all of it and have pushed my body to do things I never knew it could do. I've, also, been challenged in a couple of areas. But I'll have to say that I have now found the thing I do NOT like...tapering! I use to think taking a rest day before a race was hard to do but three weeks...Yikes!!! Well, though it's not completely rest, it is, compared to what you've gotten accustomed to running, up to this point. Mentally, I almost feel like I've already done the race and I'm in recovery mode. I'm feeling lazy. Eight miles seem so measley now and I'm dying to get out and put in a 10-13 miler. Is there something wrong with me??

Okay...guess I'm working through this great thing called a "marathon" and my thoughts and ideas have to be changed in order to treat my body correctly. Up to this point, my idea of taking care of my body is to eat better and incorporate a few supplements that I know my diet is lacking. Only in the last couple of years have I added running to this. This great machine we call a "body" is fascinating at best. It is self healing, motivating and goal oriented. Guess that's why when you catch the running "bug" it's practically just that...a bug. You've got to contend with it and what your body is trying to get you to do. Your mind, your desire and what your body is able to do have to all line up on the same page in order to accomplish this task safely.

When I began running I had no idea that my pursuit would lead me past a good 10k race. But this bug is highly contagious. We have some close friends that have done many marathons and in talking with them it made me do a lot of thinking. They love it and got excited when speaking of doing one. Once this thinking set in, like fever, I had to start "treating" it. So I began giving it what it was calling for...MORE! That is, better eating and longer running.

In the beginning...I think my long running began to see if I could run further and how difficult it was to do. If it was really "in" me to do this. Then before I knew it my husband had signed me up to do my first half marathon. I say "before I knew it" because it was only 5 months after I began running seriously. I had been doing very well in races so far and he thought it would be good to have a new goal. Let me say, here and now, it was the most fun I'd experienced in many years. I looked forward to training every day. It seemed the only apprehension that I had was the excitement of the unknown. I didn't know if I could run it in its entirety, how well I would run, how I would feel afterward and even if I would like it in the long run. My one and only goal was to run it and not walk it, if possible. This was easily accomplished and I fell in love with running longer distances.

Since I realized I liked running longer and with the excitement brewing from friends, my heart would skip a beat when I would consider doing a marathon. You know what I'm talking about. The kind of excitement you feel when you've decided to try out a new adventure, new and daring. Like standing on the edge of a bridge getting ready to do your first bungy jump. No, I've not done that. But I can "feel" the fear well up inside me as I write this.

Interesting things about a marathon:
Less than 1% of the people have ever run one
You become an elite person in yourself
Prepare, prepare, prepare (much to buy and take)
Discipline...there must be discipline
Self motivation to run those days you don't feel like it
Endurance for those wonderful long runs
Persistance in doing what you "should" and not what you want
Stamina for maintaining a program for MONTHS

Have a fantastic sunshiney, cold day. And, go Run 4 It!! Your goal, that is.

What a Week!!

This week has been great! It is my highest mileage week and my longest run (20 miles) ever. I am now officially entering the taper period of my training next week. My total mileage for the week was 41.13 miles (running with a little walking) and biking 7 miles. I won't bore you with a lot of details as I've written a post just below this one.

Lots and lots of calories burned this week. There were 2509 burned one day, 1199 another day and 749 another. These were my highest as my total calories burned for the week was 5112...Woo-hoo!! I ought to be skinny, but it's not going that direction...huh??? This really doesn't make sense as my eating has not been "that" out of whack. I've also needed lots of rest this week. Okay...honestly, it's kinda tuckered me out.

This has been an exhiliarating week! I still can't believe I ran 20 miles the other day! Ran it!! It doesn't seem possible. Actually, I could never imagine me running 13 miles just three years ago. I've come so far.

I'm excited that I'm enjoying running like I do. I'm looking forward to new goals this year once I've finished the marathon in NOLA. After some good rest, I hope to work on my speed in all my races.

Thank you for supporting me during this time and I'll need your continued support until after the race!! I couldn't do it without you, my friends!

I Love New Things!

Yesterday, my running buddies and I put in our longest distance training run before our marathon in February. It was the first time we'd run with Deleica C. on our long run. Since she still works she doesn't have the flexibility to run at any time like we do. The day had been forecasted to be terrible...70% rain only lessening to 50% ALL day long. We'd plan to run but there were huge doubts that we would be able to make it. BUT...when we got up the weather fooled the meteorologists and gave us an absolutely perfect day to run. A little cool with some peaking sun rays throughout the run. As a matter of fact, it warmed up about 15 degrees while we ran. When we got there Keith B. was at the station putting in a long run. He joined us for the rest of his time about 2 miles.

Kent, also, joined us for this long run and he got in 11.5 for his training on his first half marathon race. He did better than planned and ended feeling well satisfied with his progress. He is loving his new compression socks. It was a great day to run long.

FOR THE NEW: Running with a new partner and running a new distance. We got in 21 miles total! It was so exciting!! We ran the 20 scheduled and ended with an additional 1 mile cool down. I can hardly wait until the race. I know from last year just how exciting this one is. There is a lot of fanfare and it will be needed to keep our minds occupied and not focused on running those 26.2 miles and how tired we might feel. We have trained and trained well. There have been no running injuries and we have stuck with the program. I must say that old Hal Higdon knew what he was talking about when he created the marathon program. It has worked and we are pleased with all our training.

I am pleased to add that, so far, we have been able to run all of our runs, even this one. I hope we will be able to do this in the race but, if not, I feel confident to say that we will be able to do most all of it.

The stats of our run today for 20 miles are: 3:38:07 minutes with a 10:53 pace and burning 2425 calories!! This is soooo exciting!!

Here is picture when we finished. Deleica, me and Frank B. Don't we look good after a 21 miler??


And now for a final picture showing how we felt with our new goal met. Happy, sassy and ready to go to NOLA!!

Another New Distance

This week started with a fantastic new running distance. Our program was scheduled to do 18 miles for our long run. A new excitement filled me as well as wondering how my body was going to respond to being on my feet that long. A friend called and asked if she could join us for part of the run. Her being an experienced marathoner, made it exciting to have her come along. With her funny personality, it lightened the 10 miles she ran with us and it seemed like 3 miles when it was over. Right now, we are like sponges soaking up everything we can learning about this adventure called "marathon". The run was an easy one and we talked about all aspecs of a long race. It renewed my desire to run in this marathon. She looked over our program/schedule and gave us her opinion on how we needed to change it. We're over-exuberant and tend to push ourselves further than we should. Can't help it but enjoying every new mile we run. But we now have our orders, ha! We is me and Frank. This is the first marathon for both of us. We run about the same and have been good partners during this training period.

This week increased our longest mile done so far 2 more miles. That's one more than we were schedule to do. But as we were finishing the 18th mile, we felt like we could extend it to another one. There was only one problem...I got cramps in my feet. This is a common thing for me and has caused me to fear this race. But with it occurring in the last mile, I was able to continue running until we finished. As we got close, I yelled for Kent to get out my vinegar and he had ready for me when I to the truck. Two swigs of ACV and I was good as new...whew!!! It stops my cramps immediately. That stuff is a God-send for me. Now I have something else to take in my bag while running the race but that's okay.

Other than this long run, the rest was not what I would call good ones. Seems I struggled with all of them feeling tired and worn. But I will get the rest I need to do my 14 miler on my step-down week next week. I expect a good run because all of my long runs have been good ones. The challenge: move our run to Tuesday. Severe weather forecasted for tonight through tomorrow...icy/snow. Bad combination. Keep warm and drive safely!